Steel Soviet Union

This was the first time I saw this rare fully enclosed field anti-aircraft tank installed side by side. Standing next to this large armored beast, Wittmann was quite curious and took the initiative to reach out and touch the cold steel. body.

After feeling the cold temperature from his palm, he turned to Kegel beside him and asked.

"Can this thing only be used to hit planes? Can it be used for anything else?"

Air defense operations are certainly important, but Wittmann, who has experienced many battles, always feels that it would be too wasteful to use a body and chassis as good as the Panther's to build a device that can deal with aircraft with light. She must be able to do something else, right?

"Well, if it's those anti-aircraft tanks transformed from Panzer IV tanks, they can only do anti-aircraft defense in most cases. Occasionally they can help you shoot light infantry and do the work of machine gunners."

"But I have to congratulate you, Wittmann. You are obviously lucky this time. Corian is a completely different new type of anti-aircraft tank."

Kegel's expression looked a little mysterious, with a smile on his face. Wittmann couldn't guess what this guy would say next, so he just chose to stare at him and continue to wait for the next answer.

"During the initial design, the guys at MAN considered the issue of battlefield versatility. Wouldn't it be too wasteful to just use a chassis as good as the Black Panther to build a tank that can only deal with aircraft? Yet?"

Sure enough, what he could think of, the people in the rear military industry could also think of.

Wittmann, who was aware of this situation, was even a little surprised and felt lucky. All of this was due to Guderian's return and full leadership.

Since the father of the German armored forces came back, the German armored forces, at least in terms of overall equipment trends, have developed in a direction that meets the needs of the battlefield.

As a member of the frontline armored force, Wittmann naturally liked to see and feel this. The Corian in front of him seemed to be one of the models that benefited from this.

"Remember the battle of Stalingrad? In that battle, it was difficult for ordinary armored vehicles to effectively deal with the Russians huddled in houses and ruins. High-explosive bombs could not penetrate thick walls, and armor-piercing bombs could not penetrate I can't kill a few people when I go in. There are so many Russians that sometimes I can't even clear out all the fire points on one side of a building when I run out of shells."

"So even if our infantry can be supported by armored vehicles, chewing a block occupied by Russians will have to pay a high price."

"MAN's stupid engineers are indeed better than they were in 1943. They referred to the experience of the Battle of Stalingrad and analyzed the possibility of potential urban warfare. They also considered that anti-aircraft tanks can easily become targets of attack by Allied aircraft. , it is best to have a turret with omnidirectional protection to ensure battlefield survivability. For the precious Panther chassis, this is worthwhile.”

"The final result is what you see now, a fully enclosed combat turret protected by homogeneous steel armor in all directions. The turret's dome armor can be immune to Allied fighter jets and machine gun fire at the extreme range. If those Allied forces If a fighter jet deliberately hits you with a plane, no matter how thick the turret dome armor is, it will not protect you. It will definitely take you to the sky with the vehicle and the people, so the dome armor thickness is enough, there is no need to be too thick. "

The introduction did not forget to make a joke, but Wittmann, who had a poker face, could not laugh. Kegel, who did not mind this, patted the beauty next to him and continued to speak.

"Not only can it defend against machine gun air strikes from Allied fighter jets, but it can also be used by those Russian strongmen who hold up their anti-tank rifles, stand at the window with their arms gone, and shoot at the top of this baby's head. Believe me, as long as it's not close to the face, it still can't penetrate this beauty's skull. The protective effect is so good, let alone a machine gun."

"Oh, by the way, the fully enclosed turret has a bonus. If the Russians throw grenades and the like down, they can't hurt this baby, so there's no need to worry about the broken window above your head speaking Russian."

"In order to enhance the versatility on the battlefield, the MAN guys also equipped Corian with armor-piercing bullet magazines. At first, it was planned to fully equip Type 40 tungsten-core armor-piercing bullets, but the current production of tungsten-core armor-piercing bullets gives priority to supplying large-caliber artillery, and small-caliber artillery Tungsten core armor-piercing bullets are not produced in large quantities.”

"So in more cases, you have to rely on ordinary steel-core armor-piercing bullets to deal with ground battles. Each vehicle will be equipped with some tungsten-core armor-piercing bullets, but I suggest you save them for critical moments. They can easily penetrate ordinary light armor. Combat vehicle, mow down the enemies inside to a pulp. Remember to use it sparingly. It’s difficult to replenish it. Don’t blame me for not reminding you. Just read the manual for the specific situation.”

From the introduction from Kegel, Wittmann roughly figured out the core point: this Corian was designed with air defense and ground dual-use in mind. Moreover, this ground pair is not a fire support type. It can actually accompany the attack with the main tanks and deal with those annoying high-speed light armored vehicles and infantry firepower points.

Although it sounds a little surprising, if you think about it carefully, you will find that it is normal to do this.

After all, this thing has solid medium tank-level armor protection from head to toe, and it also has a strict fully enclosed turret design. If it still can't be used in front-line combat, then the 251, a convertible half-track that is embarrassing, should be kicked out of the group as soon as possible. Even the 251 is equipped with an anti-tank gun and used as a destroyer, what else do you expect from a bicycle?

"Oh, by the way, there's something else I forgot to tell you."

"Um?"

Wittmann, who had already planned to climb up the turret and enjoy it himself, was stumbled upon hearing this, and then turned his head to see what else Kegel wanted to add.

"Because different batches of Panther chassis are collectively renovated and reused, and some of them are battle-damaged hulls towed back from the front line to be repaired. In short, all that can be used are collected, so these Corlians have more or less common features. Sexual issues."

"To be specific, this one may be the early-stage Panther D chassis from Kursk, and that one may be the improved Panther A body. This is the general situation. You are doing logistics maintenance. You need to pay attention when doing maintenance, don’t get confused.”

"But don't expect to have a Panther 2 hull. The production capacity of that thing is tight now. All the Panther 2 hulls have been used to make medium tanks. The Leopard 2 tank destroyers planned by the MAN gang have been queued up. . That’s all I have to say. If you have any questions, you’d better ask them now. No one will be able to answer you in such detail when I leave.”